Improvement in gun-cleaners



B. L. BUDD.

l GUN-CLEANER. No.1.82,352. I .Patentegsepala18.76.

hole.

MED if BERN L. BUDD, OF FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN GUN-CLEANERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,352, ,dated September 19, 1876; application filed September 2, 1876.

ready for use.

I first procure the finest wool, which I cause to he felted by the ordinary means. This may be in thickness varying from an inch to an inch anda half or two inches. Then I cut the cleaners from this felt with asuitable cutter, which first cuts the central hole for the pin which passes4 .through it, and after this hole is partially cut, the cutter serving as a pilotf is followed by a second cutter, which cuts out the felt concentric with the inner as seen in Figure l. This is used in connection with-apin provided at one end with a hanged head, and at the other with a thread upon which travels a nut, as seen at Fig. 2. The nut cis provided with a hole, b, in which a wrench may be inserted7 and the head c has across its surface a slot, d, which maybe held by a screw-driver or other snitableimplement to preventthe felt from turning upon the pin when tightening up the nut, and which may likewise serve to assist in uniting the device to acleaning-rod. The eye or hole through the center ofthe felt is of such diameter that it may lit easily over the shank ot' the pin to which it is applied, or removed for exchange by unscrewing the nut, and upon which it is held and adjusted, as occasion requires, by looseningor tightening said nut. The threaded end ofthe pin, after the nut has been suffi-` ciently screwed up, may be further used to adapt the cleaner to the socket of the cleaningrod ordinarily in use. Thecompleted cleaner is shown at Fig. 3.

Fig. 4L shows the cleaner for a muzzle-loading piece, which has no metal atits lower end, but is fastened upon the pin, either with a The felt th'en presents the appearance suitable cement or by running a small pin.

Fig. 5 shows a cleaner provided wit-'h a string and weight. The string is attached` to the Vcleaner by passing it through a perforation in the slotted head of the pin, and knotting t upon the under side of said head, the hole in which is suitably countersunk to receive the said knot. carried to the field, and where the gun from frequent firing becomes foul, by merely drawing the cleaner through the barrels the fouling may be readily removed and the shooting i continued. A

It will, of course, be seen that the semi' elastic nature of the felt allows of a muchv longer continued use of the cleaner, inasmuch as when the diameter of the felt is diminished by wear a tightening causes it to expand and fill the bore of the gun as when originally made.

ln cleaning a gun I ordinarily use a series of six of these felt cleaners, each one for a dii'erent purpose. In doing this there may be for the six felts a single pin only, which may be removed from one and applied to the others in succession; but it is preferable to have cach felt provided with its own pin and made complete in itself. For instance, cleaner No. lis thoroughly wet-ted with water, and then made as dry as possible by squeezing it in the hand. This is then screwed onto the end of the cleaning-rod and drawn once or twice through the barrels of the gun, if the same be a breech-loader, or carried down to the bottom of the barrels if it be a muzzleloading piece. This ofcourse removes the soiling, composed chiey of the sulphuret of potassium, the residuum of the combustion of the powder. The cleaner or swab is then nnscrewed and No. 2 substituted in its place, which is now passed through the barrels for the purpose of drying them. If, now, an examination ot' the barrels reveals the fact that any rust or permanent stains of any kind remain inthe inner surface of the barrel, then This form ofthe cleaner may be of rust or stains.

tion of rust.

cleaner No. 3 is screwed onto the rod. This cleaner is saturated with a mixture of a suitable grease or oil (vaseline I prefer) with the nest washed emery. It' this is drawn through the barrels the stains will soon be removed. Should there be no such spots, then cleaner No. 4, which is saturated with vaseline and crocus or rouge, may be used. This polishes the barrel and tends to prevent the formation of spots This is then followed with cleaner No. 5, which is known as the wiper,77 which removes any residue of grease and emery or crocus there may be remaining, and

` nally, cleaner No. 6, which is saturated with vaseline, is drawn through the barrels, which thoroughly coats them and prevents the forma- Uleaners Nos. l, 2, and 5 should be thoroughly washed with soap and warm water, and dried. After using, no matter how much soiled they may become, they will by this means be made as clean as when new. Cleaners Nos. 3, 4, andy 6, if vaseline, which never becomes rancid, is used, need never be washed, as the more thoroughly saturated they become the more valuable they are for the purposes used.

The cleaning of a gun, after use by the method described, occupies not more than tive minutes. The implements are always at hand and ready for the work, and the cleaning made so easy that one having a set ot' cleaners will rarely, it' ever, put his gun aside without trst cleaning it. The use ot' rags, waste, tow, and the like, is done away with, and the cleaners do the required work in a much more satiswipers, and such l do not claim; but the use` ofmy prepared felt for this purpose obviates difficulties and presents decided advantages over those articles, inasmuch as the felt willwash, absorbs and retains the different clean'- ing and polishing ingredients, such as water, oil, vaseline, emery, Src., presenting at the same time a smooth, even surface, while the rubber and like substances do not possess the properties of absorption and retention, which properties are essential to a successful oper ation of my prepared wiper.

[t is not necessaryr to the successful use of my invention that the swab be of a precisely cylindrical form, though I have indicated that as preferable.

Having thus described the construction and use of my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A prepared swab of felt, constructed substantially as described, and adapted for use in a gun-cleaner.

2. In a gun-cleaner, a pin provided at one end with a slotted head perforated to receive a cord, and at the other with aremovable adjusting and holding nut, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. Thecombination ot' the cylinder or washer, of prepared felt, with the piu headed and slotted .at one end, and at the other carrying the holding and adjusting nut, and adapted to screw into the ordinary cleaning-rod, substantially as'and for the purpose described.

4. A gun-cleaner consisting of a cylinder of prepared felt mounted upon a metal shank, adapted t'or attachment to a string or cleaningrod, and provided with a suitable clamping device, substantially as set forth.

BERN L. BUDD.

Witnesses:

THoMAs G. CoNNoLLY, OGDEN D. BUDD. 

